Researchers found that a specific hormone receptor called estrogen receptor (ER) in the brain's limbic system helps reduce anxiety in male mice during social situations.
They also discovered that ER has a different distribution and location compared to another receptor called ER.
Let's find out more about this discovery.
A surprising hormone
A hormone called estradiol (E2) is important for social behavior and helps control anxiety when meeting new people.
In male mice, testosterone from the testes is turned into E2 in the brain. Then, E2 attaches to two types of estrogen receptors, ER and ER, which affect social behavior.
However, scientists didn't fully understand how this works in the brain.
To learn more, researchers looked at the role of ER and ER in a specific part of the brain called the lateral septum (LS). The LS helps regulate anxiety during social situations in male mice.
Using special mice with altered genes, the scientists studied how ER and ER are active in the LS.
They labeled cells expressing ER with red fluorescent protein and discovered that ER and ER had different distributions.
The researchers also studied the effects of inhibiting the expression of ER or ER genes in the LS of male mice during situations involving social and nonsocial anxiety.
Results are amazing
The findings revealed that when the activity of ER was reduced, social anxiety in the mice became more pronounced.
Additionally, the researchers observed that the cells containing ER and ER in the lateral septum (LS) sent their connections to different areas of the hypothalamus, another part of the brain.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that ER and ER are separate cell populations with distinct locations and neuronal connections in the LS.
They also emphasized that the ER population plays a crucial role in the neural circuitry that regulates anxiety-like behavior in various social situations.
Previously, we talked about chronic pains and weather.
